Blood Moon Rising
by LavenderHyde
Summary: Not sure how to write a summary without spoiling everything,,, botw au, theres lots of angst, lots of rambly bits, im not a very skilled writer so this is my best shot and if theres stuff wrong I APOLOGIZE, this is my first time posting on here and it is sO CONFUSING
1. chapter 1

No one had thought any of the citizens that were spread out through the courtyard of Hyrule Castle would have been allowed to carry arms.

They would have hoped they weren't, considering the 'threat' they could pose to the Princess, especially coming from travelers just passing through.

The four Links, Green, Blue, Red, and Vio, -and Shadow, which technically made that five- had been given the okay from Princess Zelda herself to stay at the castle.

"There are more than enough rooms, and certainly more than enough cooks to keep you fed," she had explained, when the boy's were not so sure of intruding into her home. Her very large home. She had been quite inviting, insisting that the boys stay, where they were safe, and had room for each to practice their own expertise in weaponry.

That had been more than enough persuasion for Blue, and he was quick to sink into the training fields full of Guardian scouts and punching dummies.

Ever since Calamity Ganon had been beaten by the four light worlded Links, the guardians around Central Hyrule had relearned their peace, and no longer attacked innocent passerbys. Instead, they resumed their duty of assisting Hyrule, and were very eager to do so.

The only flaw that had been noticed of the metal beasts was their inability to tell if someone who seemed to appear an 'enemy', was really an enemy or not. Zelda had had to recruit the help of Robbie, from the Ancient tech lab all the way in Akkala, to add into the guardians' systems that Shadow, was in fact, not a bad guy.

Anymore.

He hadn't been evil in a long, long, time. Occasionally he liked to mess with others, but it was playful, as opposed to villainous. The boys had been a lot younger when Shadow had realized that no fun was coming from being under Ganon's hands, and was ready to opt out of that soon after he met the Links.

Shadow had been quick to become attached to Vio when he was still under oath of Vaati. Even when Vio had cleverly deceived him, and attempted to destroy the mirror that had been Shadow's only way of traveling between light and dark world at the time.

As hurt and swindled as he had felt, both from being played a fool, and that Vio had done such a good job playing evil, he had known Vio had never done it to hurt Shadow. He had done his job of trying to sway Vaati from taking rule of the world. Which Shadow had quickly learned was probably for the best, and determined breaking the mirror himself was his ticket to freedom. And it was.

Shadow had followed and interacted with the Links as a shadow cast across the ground for months after Vaati's demise, and Vio had practically been buried in books and libraries along their travels, trying to find a way to allow Shadow access to the light world. It hadn't taken as long as they had expected for Vio to be able to conduct a sort of 'portal' -with the help of Robbie's equipment- to bind Shadow's being to a large, yet portable, mirror. This allowed Shadow to move freely through both worlds as he felt necessary.

Since Shadow had not had any access to weapons, (nor was it advised he handle a sword or bow,) Green had entrusted him with the Sheikah slate. He intended for it to be used for its fighting attributes, like the magnesis or stasis, but the most Shadow did with it usually was take photos. Green had been less than amused to find many self portraits of Shadow, mostly with the four other boys in the background fighting off enemies of sorts.

On the off chance that Shadow had been ordered to actual use the Sheikah slate for battle, he had been clumsy and nervous, due to lack of practice.

After multiple battles causing Shadow to fumble with the slate, he had become frustrated, and would stay up late at night to practice. Green, Red, and Blue, often found Vio would stay up late with him to teach him more about the other Runes. He taught him about using Stasis on large boulders and slabs of rock, and magnesis to lift metal objects up high enough to cause a good amount of damage to a foe. He even taught him good uses for cryonis, and would practice in whatever river they had chosen to camp by for the night.

To say the least, Vio had disabled the use of the remote bombs, unless someone more… mature, was handling the slate.

Even after all the practice Shadow had been through, he didn't improve very much. Blue would grunt and say it was because Vio was helping him. A hushed rumor had spread between three of the boys that Shadow and Vio had a 'thing' for each other.

They weren't so much teasing about it, as they were just trying to figure out if it were true or not. Red had seemed almost positive that there was some sort of chemistry, considering how tirelessly Vio had researched and worked to be able to bring Shadow back out of the dark world in the first place.

The longer Shadow was present in the light world, the closer he and Vio obviously had become. The two didn't seem to care about it being shown publicly, either.

Little things, like Shadow leaning against Vio when they sat, and Vio leaning back. Shadow's grasp around Vio's upper arm, and 'accidentally' falling asleep next to him after training. They didn't argue these things happening, and neither of them would confirm nor deny there being a relationship more than 'friends'.

Zelda had noticed this immediately, and especially after Ganon had been defeated and she was able to see them in person, and not through subconscious. She had fawned over how well Shadow had done while fighting the scourge of Hyrule Castle, and had noticed how Shadow had used his shadowing powers to help guard the boys as much as he could.

Being a direct outcome of some of Ganon's magic himself, Calamity Ganon had not noticed that Shadow had been fighting against him, instead of for.

Zelda had been extremely supportive of Shadow, and when all five of the boys had moved to the castle grounds, Zelda had took it upon herself personally to inform every single servant, maid, cook, and even residents that lived along the outskirts in Hyrule Castle Town, That Shadow was nothing to be afraid of, nor was he someone to defend against. She knew his appearance may be worrisome to others that were not her, or their close friends. Even though Shadow appeared to be most entirely human, he had an odd aura of him- which was what put some people on edge.

Everyone had taken Zelda's words seriously, and even though they had been frightened of him at first, they were all quite quick to grow fond (or used) to the scamp. He made it a point to play harmless pranks on a few of his more acquainted workers, like stealing a pastry, or moving an object they were just using. It only took them a few weeks to learn his ways.

Zelda had been very pleased with the attention that the heroes had brought back to Hyrule Castle town, and the courtyard. Before the Calamity had struck, the courtyard had always been bustling with nearby residents and travelers, and the castle was always chock full of visitors for monthly festivals that were held.

It had taken quite some time for Hyrule Castle town to be rebuilt; everything had been in ruins after a hundred years of abuse and neglect. All five of the Links had done their best to help, when they had had the free time between traveling to shrines across the country. Each was a valuable help to bringing the Castle back up, and now that it was back up and running just as beautiful as it used to be, Zelda had been preparing for their first festival.

It was quite different in a way she didn't like, which was that her father, King Rhoam, had always been the one to aid in getting festivals planned. But now that he was no longer around, it was up to her. Her heart ached over missing her father, but she would be alright. She still had the Links by her side, along with Impa, and Purah, and other friends she'd made along the way.

She had enlisted the help of Red to to assist her in writing and sending out invitations for the party. Green, Blue, Vio, and Shadow were down waiting in the courtyard, where they were going to help decide which decorations should go where, and what the theme would even be. What kind of theme does a party have to celebrate being taken over by Ganon?

"It's a 'Back from the Dead' party!" Red joked with her, as they made their way down one of the stair cases that twisted in a spiral downwards through one of the towers of the castle. It led to a more secret door out into the main ward.

"Not sure that is very appropriate sounding," she said in thought. "We're not redeads."

Red giggled at that, stepping ahead of her to hold open the door to the outside for her.

"Well, after being asleep for a hundred years, people may think that was the case!"

Zelda laughed him off as they made their way to the center of the courtyard, where the rest of the group, plus a guardian scout, were located. The scout was sitting perfectly still in the center of them, allowing Shadow and Green to balance what seemed to be a tower of small decorative metal cups on its head. The moment Zelda was near, it slowly turned it's head to look at her, being very careful not to knock down the cups. Blue scoffed as neither Green nor Shadow noticed the princess's arrival, and reached forward to roughly knock the cups off of the guardian.

"Guys, princess," he hissed, just as Green was about to shout at him for destroying their work, and both boys jumped to their feet and spun around on their heels to face Zelda.

Zelda raised an eyebrow at them.

"So this is what you guys chose to bide your time with, hm?" She asked, and Vio couldn't help give out a small snicker as the two boys' faces flushed red.

"We just finished sending out rather vague invitations for the festival, but Red and I have been debating over what the festival itself should be about," Zelda said, and Red gave an exaggerated sigh.

"She didn't like my 'Back from the Dead' idea," he said, folding his arms in a mock pout.

"Why not just say it's a Celebration of Hyrule Castle Town being rebuilt?" Vio asked simply, and both Red and Zelda blinked, before shrugging.

"Yeah, that's about what we were looking for. Thanks Vio," Zelda said, and Vio gave a quick, expressionless, nod in response.

Zelda had noticed a few residents, and some travelers that she didn't recognize, beginning to snake their way into the courtyard, and she pulled herself in close towards the boys in a huddle.

'Okay, I know I haven't done this in over a hundred years, but we've got to start figuring this out," she started as the boys nodded, and Blue kneeled down to pick up the fallen cups.

"Blue, the maids are to be setting up tables for hors d'oeuvres, can you bring all those cups over there?" she asked, pointing to the far end of the courtyard, where they were, as Zelda said, setting up tables. Blue nodded, fitting the armful of cups back into the large bag that they had originally been in, and hauled it up over his shoulder before jogging off.

Zelda wave them in closer as Blue left, Shadow propping himself on Vio's shoulder, and wrapping his arm around his neck. Vio didn't seem phased, and Zelda had to bite her tongue to keep herself from gushing over them. She instead took notice of the travelers still coming in, and hoped that they would be able to get the decorations up without the place becoming overrun.

"So, I want there to be a Maypole. Would the best place for that be in the center, or off to the side?" Zelda asked, and Red made a noise.

"What's a maypole?"

Zelda was about to explain when Shadow cut in with a chuckle.

"All I know is that Maypoles involve dancing around them, and unless you want a show, I will not be participating."

Vio had scoffed at this, reaching up to pinch at Shadow's hand, which warranted a jump from him.

It was as if that movement in itself had caused a domino effect of bad events.

All of a sudden, a voice boomed from nearby, "Purple Hero, look out!"

Vio and Shadow hardly had time to turn their heads to look at the traveler who Zelda had seen pull back his bow, and send an arrow flying towards them. Much to everyone's horror, said arrow had been shot directly into the center of Shadow's chest. The action had been so quick and accurate, that Shadow had not been able to make a sound before the life in him was gone. It had been shot with such force that it had pierced completely through his body, and lodged itself into Vio's left shoulder.

Vio fell back at a bad angle, his eyes wide with silent panic, and his free arm twisted around to hold onto Shadow's lifeless body that was practically skewered to his shoulder. Red had let out a strangled cry, and Green was silent, horrified.

The traveler trotted over, lowering his bow as he came up.

"I hope I wasn't too late, that demon was right on top of you by the time I noticed!" He said, then recoiled when Zelda pushed her way past the boys to glare up into his eyes.

"Leave," she snapped, planting her hand on his chest and giving him a hard, but not brute, shove backwards. He looked at her confused, until he saw her eyes welling with heavy tears.

"I'm sorry, I thought-"

Zelda cocked her jaw at him, and he shut his. She turned her attention down to Vio, silently sobbing as he gripped tight to the back of Shadow's shirt, blood from the both of them pooling onto the cobblestone beneath him. His eyes were sealed shut.

"He was not in distress. You are not to use open fire of a weapon on the Castle property. There's a reason we have guards!"

The man swallowed, then bowed his head.

"I understand. My apologies, Princess. I will be on my way," he said quietly, reaching up to hook his bow on his back. Zelda kept her eye on him, feeling slightly relieved as a small group of knights rushed to escort him out further. Red had gotten down on his knees, shaky and crying, but trying his best to calm a panicked Vio. Green had run off to get Blue, and the two of them were rushing back.

Zelda threw herself down onto the ground on the side that that the two of them had been shot, and carefully leaned over to assess the damage done to Vio's shoulder. It had been shot at full power from such a short distance, and unsurprisingly, it had embedded itself deep into Vio's shoulder. Trying to pull it out could result in more damage than Zelda was willing to inflict, but Shadow was still attached, and as much as she wanted to pull him off of Vio, that could end up being worse for Vio in the long run.

Blue had swore aloud when he and Green had rejoined the group, his voice just barely noticeably cracking.

"Why haven't you taken him off yet?" he yelled, and Vio flinched, clenching his eyes tighter as tears spilled down his face even more than they were.

"I can't. The arrow is too deep in Vio's shoulder, and if I hit a nerve recklessly, he could lose use of his arm," Zelda explained, and Blue scoffed. He made his way to sit next to Zelda, and pulled a small blade of out the pocket of his pants.

"Hold onto his shoulder, just in case."

He was moving too quickly for Zelda to argue, so she listened, wrapping her hands carefully around Vio's shoulder. Vio yelled out in both agony and anguish as Blue roughly, yet carefully, sawed at the stem of the arrow, separating Shadow's body from Vio's. As Shadow came free, Blue slipped the remainder of the arrow out of his back.

He was about to pull Shadow away, but Vio's unwounded arm shot forward, grabbing hold of the body and pulling it close to his chest, his lungs finally forcing out a pained cry. It didn't take but a moment before Shadow's body seemed to disappear with a puff of a dark cloud, and Vio was left clutching at nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

Zelda had become worried for Vio. Not just because he- along with the others- was mourning over Shadow quite hard, but because he immediately delved deep into studies, trying to dig up a way to bring Shadow back. Even being incapacitated because of his shoulder, which had required a large amount of stitches and was near unusable because of being wrapped so tightly, he refused to stay in the infirmary, or his bedroom, to heal. During the moments Zelda had been able to convince him to sit and rest, he still had a notepad held onto his lap, trying his best to write with his dominant left, even though it was injured.

After a while, Zelda just let him do his thing, for the most part. He knew better than to move in such a way that the stitches would rip out.

Zelda believed that it was possible to bring Shadow back. She could still sense Calamity Ganon's power, but it was fading quickly. Even though it had been defeated for good, Ganon's power still had a leftover effect on the world. It didn't have power over anything, thankfully, but it was there.

A few days had passed, and Zelda was planted firmly in Vio's quarters with him. Her chair was placed right in front of the door, blocking any escape. She had been stockpiling whatever studious books that Vio had requested, starting a decent collection on the bedroom's bookshelf, which had been empty just days earlier. Vio had always enjoyed spending all his time in the Castle's library anyways, so why would he need to bring more than one or two books back to his room?

Zelda was snapped out of her thoughts as Vio slammed a book shut on his lap. When she looked up, his eyes were deep in what seemed to be a thoughtful idea. Zelda couldn't help but notice how tired his face looked as well, deep dark circles under blue eyes, pale faced and narrow. She couldn't hardly get him to eat. He was either too busy, or feeling ill from what they worried could be a slight infection in his shoulder. It wouldn't surprise them if it did fall into an infection, as the three inch arrow had imbedded itself almost completely into his arm, leaving a grotesquely deep wound. He would never be able to move it the same, but Zelda knew that wouldn't stop him from anything, though.

"Zelda," Vio had called, possibly more than once, pulling her out of her head again.

"What is it?"

"I.. I need to go to the Akkala Tech Laboratory. I can go on my own, but it needs to be immediately," he said, and Zelda shook her head in disbelief. She hardly allowed him to leave his bedroom, let alone travel a good half day's traveling distance to Akkala.

"Now?! Vio, it's just becoming dark. What in the world for?" Zelda asked, baffled.

"I feel like Robbie may be able to help. He works with machines, and was able to bring back guardians after they had been destroyed years ago," He said, and Zelda shook her head.

"No, Vio. No! Absolutely not! We can write him a letter, you are not going anywhere."

Vio's mouth twitched downwards, an eyebrow cocked as his eyes narrowed at her.

"Zelda, sending a letter could take days, much less receiving one in return could take weeks. We don't have this much time. You said so yourself, Ganon's power is fading. If I had any chance to get him back it-"

Zelda cut him off, tapping her hand on the arm of her chair. She shook her head, her mouth pursed. She would not give in. She would offer to travel there herself, or have Blue, Red, or Green travel, but she already knew his excuse would be that he needed to talk to Robbie himself.

Vio sighed in irate, leaning his head back against the headboard of the bed he sat cross legged on, and rubbing his right hand over his eyes. He moved his book to the side table, then swung his legs over the side of the bed.

"Then, I guess i'm burned out of ideas for tonight," he said lowly, reaching up to pull the hair tie out of it's loose ponytail.

"You're going to get rest?" Zelda asked, almost a bit too excited. Vio nodded, with a half hearted shrug.

"Well, yeah. I guess. I have no idea what to do next, so maybe getting a full night's sleep will aid in bringing new ideas," He said, obviously not minding the Princess' presence as he carefully slipped his lavender tunic over his head. Almost the entire top half of his body was wrapped in dressings anyways, to protect his arm from moving to far out to cause more damage. He folded the shirt over the edge of the dresser in the room, replacing it with a softer night shirt, of almost the same color.

Zelda got up to move her chair from the door, giving him a careful side hug before moving to leave.

"We will find a way to get Robbie here, within the next few days. I promise."

Vio let out nothing more than a grunt of acknowledgment, and Zelda took it as better than nothing. She knew he was unhappy with her, both for not allowing him to continue his research in Akkala, and also for her near constant babysitting. Even once out of the three nights that had passed, she had fallen asleep for the entire night in one of the chairs. He had not slept a wink, and she felt terrible for passing out on him. He didn't seem to mind, either way, but she couldn't help feeling irresponsible.

She said her goodnights, and closed his door behind her. It was dark by the time she reached her own room across the castle, and she chittered with the Guards near her room from behind her changing curtain, getting comfortable in her nightgown, and sitting herself on the edge of the bed.

She was about to blow out the candle lights, when she heard yelling and commotion from down the hall. She poked her head out past the her guards, who were standing to defend her room if need be. One of the maids ran towards Zelda's room, the guards moving slightly so she could look at the Princess to state her claim.

"Someone is stealing one of the horses!"

Zelda's first thought was, 'Intruder!', but then the gears in her brain clicked into place. Vio.

Slipping on her shoes, she bolted from the room, not caring in the slightest if the guards followed her. She ran tirelessly until she reached Vio's bedroom, knocking carefully first, before swinging the door open. He was gone. Panic arose in her throat, and she began yelling to the guards, ordering them to prepare her horse and a few Knights to assist.

The bedroom next to Vio's creaked open, and Green's face poked out.

"Princess, what's going on?" he asked, eyes wide as he realized the urgency.

"Vio has taken his horse and left," She said quickly, letting Green catch up as she paced down the hall towards the stables.

"He- He what? Why?!" he exclaimed, and Zelda looked down at her feet as she moved, holding her nightgown up slightly so she didn't trip over it.

"He wanted to go to Akkala to see Robbie, but he is in no shape, so I declined him."

Green sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck.

"That's Vio for you. Overly stoic and determined. At this point, if he's already gone through the trouble of sneaking out to take his horse, I doubt he will make it easy for someone to catch up to him. That horse of his can ride like a machine if she knows Vio is serious enough."

Zelda frowned.

"Eclipse is the fastest horse here…. But we have to try to catch up." Green nodded in agreement, following silently until they made it into the stables. A few knights were already mounting their horses, and Green grabbed onto Zelda's arm as she too was about to mount.

"Princess, You can't ride in your nightgown, that's all sorts of dangerous!" he said, and she pulled her arm away from him.

"I have no time to change. It will have to do." She went to step into the stirrups again, when Green began unbuckle the belt from around his tunic.

"I'm wearing an undershirt and shorts underneath this, please just wear these for now," he said, stripping himself of the outer layer of his tunic, and traveling pants. Zelda sighed, though she was thankful. As Green handed her the clothes, she turned to the Knights.

"Go out ahead now and began looking. He has taken off towards Akkala. We'll catch up."

The knights nodded, letting out whoops as the horses took off out of the stable one at a time.

Both Zelda and Green paused momentarily as Shadow's horse, Liera, bucked and whinnied from her restraints in the back of the stable, the coming midnight causing her skin to grotesquely morph into the stalhorse that she was at night. She was just as in tune with the darkness as Shadow had been, and her attitude matched perfectly with his.

Her normal neigh had turned into a more guttural echo, and they didn't stop her from breaking loose of her restraints and bolting out of the stable after the knights.

Green hopped up easily onto his horse, Triumph, while Zelda undressed unashamedly, and quickly slipped Green's clothing on over her undergarments. She heaved herself up onto Storm, not even fitting a bridle on him. She gripped tight to his hair, shooting a quick look back to Green, before tugging on her white steed's mane, sending him running out of the stable.


	3. Chapter 3

Vio had heard the beginning of the fuss as soon as he lead Eclipse out of the stable. The wound on his shoulder pulsated with a gnawing pain, spreading through his entire arm and the left side of his body. He winced as the heat coursed through him even more as he flicked at the reins, leaning his body forward to steady himself. It didn't take long before he turned his head back, noticing multiple knights gearing up in the stables.

"We won't let them catch us," Vio mumbled to the horse, and she let out a soft whinny as he patted her gently on the side of the neck. It was almost as if she could fully sense his anxiety- hell, she most likely did- and Vio could feel her picking up a pace faster than she had ever reached. At this point, they may be able to make it to Akkala by early morning.

As soon as he could be confident that they had lost whoever was going to follow them, he would stop to let Eclipse rest. The satchel that was attached to the side of her traveling saddle was half full of apples and a canteen of water, and the rest of the space was occupied by a few specific books, and a journal.

Vio had reached almost a breaking point in his sleepless studies, and he was practically positive that at this point, the one person who could definitely help him was Robbie. It was possible that Purah may have some sort of idea on the subject as well, but Vio knew her less, and was more confident in Robbie's knowledge of machines; reviving them, creating them- what have you.

If Zelda had been right about Ganon's power still being present, he had no time to dilly dally. As bad as Vio felt about lying to her, Shadow was his top priority. He wasn't about to let some silly wound stop him from doing what he needed to do to get the most important person back to him.

Vio was pulled out of his thoughts as he heard a distant hollar echo from behind him, and he gave the reins a slight whip, fully aware that Eclipse was running as fast as she could manage. It was more of a warning.

Eclipse grunted, pushing her ears back against her head as she pushed harder. It wasn't long before they had broken through the trees, and had made it into a more open space. Pulling the base of his hood closer to his face to brace the cold midnight wind, Vio used the open space to his advantage. Turning to look back, he was still able to see the faint glow of their lanterns, so he guided Eclipse off the path, and directly into another woodland area. The path would eventually lead back out into the open, and even cut around Death Mountain. Vio had an acute sense of direction, so he was positive he knew what he was doing. But, on the off chance he took a wrong turn, he had taken the Sheikah slate with him just in case.

He kept his sight turned on their pursuers, sighing in relief when they didn't follow his same path. He pulled back slightly on the reins, allowing Eclipse to finally slow.

"Wonderful, girl," he praised, reaching forward to scratch at her mane. He could feel the winded rise and fall of her chest at the sides of his legs, and he desperately hoped that the journey wouldn't call for a run quite like that again. Though, hope doesn't always prevail.

It was hours later, when Vio had been spotted again, that he recognized a bright white horse standing out in the darkness. Zelda was in the group?

As soon as she had noticed him, she pulled tight onto her horse's mane, sending him shooting off towards Vio. Storm may not have been as fast as Eclipse, but his endurance was far greater, and Vio had worried that they would not be able to escape. Zelda's calling to push her horse faster began to grow louder and louder, and in a last second alarm, Vio had disregarded any remembrance of the wound on his shoulder, and cracked hard against the reins.

He was temporarily blinded by the searing pain, letting out a distressed yell, and was almost certain that the stitches that held the wound together had pulled loose. Eclipse had shook at his cry, faltering slightly, before seeming to realize the urgency in the situation. She leaned her head directly outwards, making her body straight, and allowing her to pick up that same speed once again.

Vio had dropped the reins in his panic, his good hand gripped tightly to his shoulder, while his left hand held at the pommel of the saddle best as he was able. He was such an idiot, why had he done that? After scrambling to collect the reins again, he leaned forward to press his forehead in between Eclipse's shoulders. The pain was near unbearable, but Vio wasn't one to just give up. Not this easily. He would deal with whatever more damage he had inflicted on himself later, but for the moment, he had to keep going.

He felt as though he were finally making the distance back up once again, when a deep, ominous grunt reverberated from behind him. Startled, he whipped his head around to see a mass of bones chasing after him. At first, he had become weary as he thought it to be a normal stalhorse, but as it grew closer, he recognized the tattered coat that Shadow had dressed her with, and he let out a sigh of relief. She had no rider, and, even though she was usually a much slower horse, eventually she had caught up with Vio, and ran side by side with him and Eclipse.

Vio reached out a tentative hand to touch her. He hadn't seen her since Shadow was killed. He couldn't bear to come across her, when she was so much like him. Of course, he was aware that she was a horse, and Shadow was not, but she was his horse. And it was enough.

Eyes burning at the threat of oncoming tears, Vio pulled his hand away, pushing his thumb and forefinger against the corners of his eyes.

Stop-

It wasn't the time to grieve for him more. Vio was going to get him back, whatever the cost.

The last few hours of night had passed, and the early morning sun was just starting to peak over the hills. He had ridden his horse completely around the base of Death Mountain, which he expected to have taken much longer than it did. He sighed in relief as the East Akkala Stable finally came into his line of sight.

He had not seen his pursuers at all in the past two hours, and he hoped that they had had either stopped following, realizing that Vio was close enough to the Tech Lab that they could let him off the hook, or they had to stop to let their horses rest. Either way, they should have been far back, and while coming up on the stable, he found he could finally let Eclipse stop, rest, and take a nice drink from the trough of water they had out for the horses.

He had planned to stop at the South Akkala Stable, but they had shut everything in at the mere sight of poor Liera, so it hadn't been an option. But now that morning had arrived, Liera was covered in soft fur once again, shaking her head to fluff out her roached mane. Vio stayed on Eclipse's back as she and Liera drank from the trough. He wasn't prepared to have to climb back up just yet, as his shoulder still throbbed, which in turn caused his entire body to ache.

He was exhausted, and had to fight himself from falling asleep right then and there. He was just allowing himself to close his eyes for a split second, when he heard yelling, and both he and Eclipse were jerked from their actions, turning back to see the knights, being led by Zelda and who appeared to be Green, (in his undergarments?) running full speed directly towards him.

Vio hardly even had to pull back on the reins, but he still let out a low whoop under his breath, and Eclipse took off towards the lab. Confused, Liera pulled her head out of the trough, not expecting to be leaving already, but she followed suit either way.

He was so close, he could see the Tech Lab on the top of the hill. Zelda was terrifyingly close now, so much that Vio thought he could hear the clicking of her horse's hooves, and he could just barely hear Zelda calling out to him- what, though, he wasn't sure. He didn't bother to listen. Vio knew full well he would get a lecture something awful, but he was an adult, and he was going to do what he needed to do, dammit.

He wasn't under lock and key, Zelda just said no because he was injured. It's not like he was going to be put on death row for leaving the castle; he wasn't a prisoner. He shook his head, purposefully causing his hood to fall. The stress was making his face hot, and he wished he had tied his hair back up while resting at the stable.

Zelda had been directly on his tail when he pulled Eclipse up to the front of the lab. He hardly had time to dismount- more like stumble and fall off- before Zelda just about launched herself onto him, knocking them both into the doormat of the lab. Robbie must have already heard the commotion, and was opening the door as they fell. He looked down at them, lifting his goggles to display a quite bewildered expression.

"What the- what seems to be going on here?" He asked, while Zelda looked up, wide eyed, and Vio let out out a groan as he caught his breath.

"I- I need your help."


	4. Chapter 4

Zelda had been seated on the edge of the downstairs bed, her face knit into a harsh scowl, and her arms folded tight over her chest. Green sat beside her, holding tightly to her upper arm, as she glared across the room at Vio- who had been strategically placed a good distance from her.

Vio kindly batted Jerrin away from checking at his shoulder, which was stained red all the way through his clothes from him pulling his stitches - like Zelda knew he would, yet hoped he wouldn't, do. The kind woman instead set on making a batch of tea, which she insisted would help calm everyone's tension and aches.

Robbie had apparently been in the middle of setting Cherry, the ancient armor oven that he had created, up for the day. While he finished that, there was a dull silence in the room, that Zelda knew was making Vio uncomfortable.

Good. She wanted it to. That was a foolish stunt he pulled, and as angry as she was, she was upset that he hadn't trusted her to retrieve Robbie in a short amount of time for him. But, as Green had told her the night before, he was determined to do something. And she couldn't be too mad at him for being desperate enough to risk his life to bring back a deceased loved one. She was still quite angry, though.

"So, Violet, what was your reasoning for traveling all the way here?" Robbie started, and Vio's eyes shifted between him and Zelda.

"If you don't mind, I would rather converse it one on one," he said, and Zelda folded her arms.

"No- if you had to talk to him so badly I want to hear what's so important too! I think I deserve it after you did something so idiotic."

"It was important, Zelda. I couldn't wait days."

"But you're injured-"

"And Shadow is _dead_."

Zelda recoiled, and Robbie shook his head in confusion.

"Pardon- Shadow?" He asked, placing his shoulder carefully on Vio's good shoulder. "I don't care who stays or goes, I just need to hear the whole story."

Vio looked down at his hands, his shoulders tensing. Zelda couldn't see his expression behind his hair, but she decided it was time for her to stop acting like a child, and she got up and made her way over to sit next to him. She placed a friendly hand on his back, which caused him to jump, before melting into the touch ever so slightly.

"A traveler passing through thought that Shadow was attacking me while he was hanging on my shoulder, and shot him with an arrow," he said lowly, then gestured to his wounded shoulder. "It got me too."

Robbie frowned, pushing his goggles up on top of his head.

"Oh, I'm so terribly sorry," he said, and Vio shook his head.

"No I... I plan on getting him back. That's why I'm here."

Robbie blinked.

"I can revive guardians but… I'm not so sure about living beings."

"I know that. I also know that you're the most knowledgeable on machinery, and that's what I need your help with."

Robbie raised his eyebrow in intrigue.

"Go on…"

"Zelda said that, though faint and disappearing quickly, she could still sense Calamity Ganon's power. I need to attempt a machine that can gather Ganon's remaining power and make… make one last blood moon."

A strong silence filled the room, and after a moment, Vio moved to stand up.

"Well, now I sound like I've gone insane," he said quietly, and had stood up to pace anxiously, when Jerrin had made her way across the room quickly to push him back down into his seat.

"First of all, sweetheart, you don't sound insane. Second of all, you're not going anywhere until you allow us to clean your shoulder up."

Vio let out a muted scowl, but let Jerrin push him back down.

"It sounded better in my head, thats for sure," he muttered, and jumped slightly when Robbie suddenly flicked his goggles back down with force, letting out a loud… squawk.

"Violet, my boy, I think I understand how we can make that happen!" he exclaimed, and Vio looked up at him, wide eyed.

"Are you- _really_?" he stumbled. He had apparently expected the silence he had received to have been judgemental, not considerable. Robbie nodded, a slight smirk spread across his mouth.

"It will have to be quite large, so it may be best to build it at the castle, near the location of Shadow's- er.. Death. You three should take your time to rest after that tiresome journey last night, while Cherry and I gather everything we may need. It may take a while," he said, reaching up to flick a second switch, causing her gears to twist and whirr.

Jerrin had already been carrying extra pillows and blankets down from the upstairs.

"Unfortunately we only have this one area to lay down at, at the moment," she said apologetically. "But it is quite large if you three want to nap on it."

Before Vio could even offer to stay at the chair he was at, Zelda stood up, pulling Vio up with her.

"It's perfect, we'll manage. Thank you, Jerrin."

Zelda pulled Vio around to the right side of the bed, despite his quiet complaints, and made him lay down. Once she was sure he wasn't going to get up, she climbed over his legs to lay in the middle of the bed, then held her arms out to gesture for Green to join on the opposite side.

The bed had been just big enough for the three of them to lay comfortably, and Zelda thanked the Goddesses when she almost immediately heard Vio's breath even out with sleep. It was something he got very little of recently, and she was relieved that he had so easily given in.

She hadn't noticed falling asleep herself, but was awoken by a soft pat on the shoulder from Green. Apparently, she had been the last to wake up. Green left Zelda's side to continue helping Robbie load the many machine parts he had come up with into a large wagon. The wagon was connected to a large guardian, who seemed quite excited to start it's job.

As Zelda pulled herself up into a sitting position on the edge of the bed, she stretched her arms over her head while gazing around. Jerrin had Vio, who had been cleaned up with new bandages, pinned onto a stool while she braided his long hair down over his shoulder, and tied it off with a soft black thread. He shot her a quick glance as he noticed her sitting up, but did nothing more as he stood up from the stool and followed Green out of the lab.

Jerrin had given Zelda a more proper fitting outfit to fit into, and she was able to return the outfit she had rode in the previous night to Green. She had hesitated at first to walk over to Green and Vio, noticing that Vio was obviously confiding in him over something, but his glance had caught notice of her anyways, and he shut his mouth.

Zelda felt bad; she knew at this point it would take her time to gain Vio's trust back- even though it had been her trust that he had broken. She had only denied him out of fear for his safety, but she should have known better. She had chased him down, and near made a fool of him on Robbie's door step. He didn't quite deserve that. He hadn't deserved Zelda's overreacting, and she would apologize for that.

She had known that Vio and Shadow were closer than just friends, the same way she knew Red and Blue were closer in that way too, though those two were less forward about it. She could tell just by the way Vio would look at Shadow- though usually emotionless, she could see it in his eyes. And she could see that same feeling reflecting off of Shadow's. What they had had been absolutely _real_ , and if Zelda had been in Vio's shoes, she knows she would have done whatever it took to get her significant other back as well.

She had assumed Vio was being selfish, but in truth, his escapade had been most selfless. That was always what Vio had been. Selfless.

Vio had pursed his mouth shut tighter, straightening his position as Zelda walked towards them, handing the folded up clothes to Green.

"Thank you Green," she had started off with, and she could have sworn she saw Vio breathe out just barely in relief. He had sucked it back up though, as soon as Zelda glanced towards him.

"Green, please be a dear and give me a moment with Vio," she mumbled, and Green nodded, before pacing away.

Vio sighed through his nose, knowing full well he was trapped, and he was biting at his lip when Zelda turned fully towards him.

"Listen, Princess, I know what I did was extremely idiotic-" he began quickly, his voice tight, but Zelda hushed him.

"Vio. I understand," she said softly, and he narrowed his eyes in confusion. "I know I made a big ordeal over it, and I wish with my heart that I had understood at the time. I was so worried for you- I saw you lash at Eclipse's reins and hurt your shoulder more, and I felt so infuriated. Not at you, but at the world, for letting this happen."

Zelda sniffed, realizing her eyes were growing heavy. She wiped at them, but it was for naught as she was already crying. She had weak tear ducts- she would admit.

"I'm just- just so _angry_ that this had to happen. T-that it had to happen to Shadow, and that you had to get hurt as well in the process, it's just not fair," she choked out, her loose bangs sticking to her wet cheeks. She pushed them roughly out of the way as she looked down at her feet, nudging the tip of her slipper into the dirt.

She jumped slightly at Vio's soft hand on her shoulder. She raised her head to look at him again, and his eyes were downcast.

"It's not your fault, Zelda, obviously. It didn't happen because of any of us," he started, and Zelda sniffed again, trying oh so hard to keep from letting out a whimper. "I know what I did was idiotic, but what needs to happen needs to happen immediately. If I'm- …If we're going to get Shadow back, it needs to be attempted before Ganon's energy disappears for good."

Zelda nodded.

"Also, I-" Vio stopped, and Zelda looked up at him. She raised her eyebrows, urging him to go on, and he swallowed. "You are the only one that understood Shadow's and my own… relationship, to the extent that it was. If you would mind not making a deal about it, it would be greatly appreciated."

Zelda felt her heart bubble up with heat in her chest. She had been right- and now, she felt worse. She had been right; Vio had had to witness his significant other be murdered. Vio had been stuck to his significant other's lifeless body, and could do nothing about it. Zelda was surprised, saddened, and proud, all in one, at how well Vio was publically taking this. If it had been Zelda, she would have been in hysterics for weeks- and Vio had jumped back into his research within the first few hours.

She couldn't help the deluge of tears that streamed down her face at this point- and she nodded through them, leaning forward to wrap her arms around Vio's waist in a tight hug. She hadn't fully expected him to return it, but she felt relieved when one of his arms laced around her shoulders, and the other, that couldn't raise, at her waist.

She held on for a few moments, before pulling away at the sound of Green and Robbie's voices leaving the lab, and she hurried to rub at her eyes with the hem of her sleeve. Vio did the same.

"Are we ready to hit the ro- are you two alright?" Robbie cut himself off at the sight of Zelda's red and puffy eyes, and she nodded vigorously. Vio simply kept his mouth shut, and Robbie shrugged, before continuing his path to the guardian, and clambering up the side of it until he sat directly on top.

Zelda felt bad, noticing her few knights struggling to keep watch from their horses without nodding off. She climbed up onto Storm, and turned him to the side so she could face the knights.

"You five do not have to keep up with us. I suggest you make your way down to East Akkala Stable and rent out a few of their bed's to allow yourselves good rest before making the travel back," she instructed, and the front knight bowed to her, and a few behind him sighed in relief.

"You will be safe, my princess?" He asked, and Zelda nodded, glancing towards the large guardian that Robbie sat atop.

"We have the guardian for protection, if we are to need it," she said, and the knight bowed once more before signaling to the rest of the team to head out.

She turned Storm back towards the others; Green had already mounted Triumph, and was watching in awe as Vio expertly hooked his right foot into the stirrup of Eclipse's saddle, pulling himself up onto the large Clydesdale by the horn. His left arm stayed completely still during, even when he had to flip himself around to get his legs to sit correctly over the saddle.

Liera shook her head as she trotted up next to Vio and Eclipse, pushing her nose into the crook of Vio's knee. Zelda knew it hurt him at least somewhat to see Liera, but she had faith that it wouldn't last long.

They waited patiently for Robbie to give the okay, before heading off down the hill back towards Hyrule Castle. She watched in amusement at times as Liera would break from her spot pushed up against Vio, to run around the legs of the guardian and Robbie. She seemed quite interested in it, and Zelda noted that she was almost more of a dog than a horse. Maybe she had been a dog in a past life.

And, like a dog, she would return back to her spot next to Vio, nudging her nose under his knee until he would reach out to ruffled her mane in between her ears.

It was far past nightfall once they returned to the Castle, and as much as Zelda could tell Vio wanted to jump in on the project, he refrained from asking much more of Robbie after the long day's journey. Though, Robbie was quite spry for his age, and was automatically willing to began working out blueprints with Vio for a few hours before they both had begun to nod off in the library. Zelda had found them early the next morning while making her early morning rounds that she usually made before going back to sleep. She woke them softly, ordering them to head to their bedrooms for a better couple hours of sleep.

Vio had slept significantly less than Robbie, waking back up before him. Zelda almost did a double take when she saw him back in the library maybe an hour later, looking over the blueprints again, while adding notes to his journal.

She sat down next to him, silently watching him work. He was quick to write down his thoughts, and she noticed that most of what he wrote was in hylian shorthand. Something that small reminded Zelda how urgent this issue was to him, and she had to remind herself not to feel surprised when she found him up at all hours of the day and night.

Green had continued his work standing guard to Zelda at any moment he could, while Blue and Red had offered their help with building the machine. Once Robbie had awoken, he immediately gave them small chores pertaining the ancient mechanical pieces he had brought.

Blue had dug into anchoring larger, heavier, pieces together, while Red was set up piecing together small gears, like a puzzle. They both followed a small instruction sheet that Robbie had scribbled out for them, and, looking at the sheet, Zelda wondered how they understood it at all.

"We've been working with these ancient pieces for a while, now," Blue had told her when she looked quizzically at them. "And we've worked with Robbie in the past. It doesn't take long to figure his directions out."

Robbie and Vio were working on the largest parts of the machine a good distance from Red and Blue. Zelda hadn't expected it to be so large, but if that's what it takes, then so be it. She knew that she wouldn't be much help in this subject, so Zelda sat herself down on the grass to watch each group work away.

Vio bounded over to Red after a few minutes, quietly asking him for his fire rod, before heading back over to Robbie. While sharing words under his breath, he held the rod between his knees to tie all of his hair back into a bun, before heating it up to seemingly weld something together.

The more frustrated Vio would grow when denied being able to move something larger into place, Zelda could see him biting down hard on his bottom lip. This stress was so much- too much. She got to her feet, brushed the grass from her dress, and headed off towards the courtyard kitchen. It was relatively smaller than the castle's main kitchen, but it still had everything she needed.

Green, who had followed suit, watched in calm curiosity as Zelda tied an apron around her waist, and simply beginning to bake. Even though she hadn't physically baked in over one hundred years, somehow she still remembered the recipe to bake mighty banana bread, as though it were inked into the back of her hand.

She enlisted Green to start up a kettle of tea as the bread went into the brick oven, and once everything was finished and sliced, she piled it all onto a carrying tray, and headed back out to the yard.

Everyone had seemingly been quite excited over the food and tea, even though it had taken Vio quite an amount of time to notice she had even brought food. Any other day, Zelda would have been butthurt over it, but she was pleasantly surprised to eventually see him slowly, but surely, picking at a slice of the bread as he worked.

Content with this, she sat herself back down in the grass, spreading her dress around her, and watched everyone work.


	5. Chapter 5

Vio had felt a small weight lift off his neck after they seemed to build together the entire frame of the machine. It was huge, bulky, and quite ugly, and Robbie had given Vio all permission to destroy it at the end of the entire trip.

He had even felt satisfied enough to allow himself to retire to his room slightly earlier than usual, even though he felt utterly terrible about it once he got there. Shadow was dead, stuck permanently, unless Vio did something about it. Though, Vio knew he was still only human, and sleep would do him well. If not sleep- at least lying still for a while will help too.

Vio had only come to realize how much his shoulder still pained him, when he attempted to remove his day shirt to replace it with a night shirt.

He groaned at the pain, letting the shirt fall back down as he carefully rubbed at the wound on his shoulder. He slouched down into the floor to sit on his knees, leaning against the side of his bed as he carefully pushed aside the shirt, and the gauze, to examine his shoulder.

It was bruised and swollen, but not infected. He wasn't sure why he hadn't taken into account that, with as deep as the cut had been, it wasn't going to stop hurting any time soon. His strenuous working wasn't going to help in the slightest, even though he did find that preoccupying his mind definitely took it away from the pain.

He jumped slightly when he realized that his door had creaked open, more than it already was, moments ago. He turned around to see Zelda poking her head in, and when she caught his glance, she pushed herself farther into the room, closing the door behind her.

Appropriately enough, she was carrying a decent sized basket, filled with first aid supplies.

"I guess you're still hurting," she said softly, setting the basket down as she kneeled down next to him.

Vio watched her, unmoving for the moment, before nodding slightly.

"Quite," he mumbled in response, and Zelda's face scrunched up sympathetically. She remained somewhat quiet as she pulled out supplies from the basket; new gauze, saline wash, and both a dry and a wet cloth.

"As good of a job as Jerrin had done to fix your bandages, I'd like to replace it with something softer," she said, gesturing to the gauze wrap she had pulled out- which was indeed much softer looking than what Jerrin had had on hand.

Vio just nodded to her, moving to grip the hem of his shirt at the base of his neck, struggling to pull it off completely. He felt embarrassed when Zelda had to reach forward to help pull the shirt off from around his bad arm, but to his excuse, the bandages caused the fabric to grab.

As Zelda removed the old gauze from Vio's arm, she had the wet washcloth ready to dab at the wound. Vio had initially winced at the sudden coldness, but was easy to sigh in relief at it's soothing feel. Zelda had noticed this, and held the cloth there for a few more moments, even so much as turning the cloth around to press a new, cool, side to his shoulder.

She apologized briefly under her breath, as she removed the wet cloth to carefully wipe at the stitches with the saline. Vio took a breath in through his nose, tensing at the sharp sting, and silently letting Zelda finish cleaning, before wrapping the softer gauze wrap around his arm and chest.

"You've really made quick progress on that machine," Zelda said, finally kicking down the door to the awkward silence as Vio replaced his shirt. "At this pace, you'll have it done quicker than you'd expected!"

Vio couldn't help but give a small smile at her words. That made him feel better, from feeling guilty earlier. He could have this done quicker. He could have Shadow back quicker.

Zelda had begun to clean up the supplies, and Vio turned to her before she got up.

"Zelda," he started, and she froze, looking up at him. "Thank you for supporting me."

She smiled, leaning forward to plant a kiss on his forehead.

"We're going to get him back," she said. "You're going to get him back."

She had said it with such certainty, that Vio nearly choked as his throat tightened, threatening to make him sob. He pinched briefly at the bridge of his nose, before steeling himself enough to look back up at Zelda.

"Thank you."

After Zelda left, her words had left a strong echo in his brain for the rest of the night. When he woke up, he was even left with the sweet remembrance of a good dream. He would work harder- no, smarter, to get this machine finished before it was too late. He had no other choice but to make it work.

As Vio pulled himself out of his bed, he gave his arm a quick stretch. It felt better than it had last night; sore, but better. He was able to switch into his day shirt much easier than he had been the night before, and he felt refreshed for the first time in the past week thanks to a good night's sleep.

He had still been the first one to wake up, he realized, when he made his way out to the field and the sun was just barely lighting up the sky. The air around him was tinged sepia, and he deemed it light enough to be able to study Robbie's finished blueprints. As tedious as it was putting the machine itself together, the prints were rather simple. Vio would refrain from moving the larger parts around, and began to work on the smaller components.

By the time Robbie had met him out in the field, he was surprised by how much Vio had gotten done on his own.

"You are one smart kid, Violet," he praised, doing a quick look over on the machine. "There isn't much heavy lifting left, and if we continue throughout the day at this pace, we may be able to fire it up tonight before the moon rises."

Vio felt his heart beat hard against his chest for a moment. Tonight? He wouldn't skip a beat if it meant getting Shadow back that night.

When Zelda had come out, around two hours later, she had already thought ahead and brought out a small kettle of tea. After Zelda, it wasn't long before Green, Blue, and Red joined as well; Red immediately surrendering his fire rod to Vio so he could weld the pieces together that he had been waiting on.

The day passed by gruelingly slow, and the longer it went on, the more anxious Vio became. His arm had succumbed once more to pain, and that tiny voice in the back of his head couldn't help wonder- what if all of this was for nothing?

Vio slowed his work, trying to shake the thought from his head. What if there wasn't enough of Ganon's power left to summon a blood moon? What if it just didn't work?

He jumped when he felt a soft hand on his back.

"Vio, are you alright?" Zelda's voice was kind, reminding Vio of her words from the previous night.

"Yeah, I… I'm fine."

"It will happen," she reminded him. "I can feel it."

Vio shot her a thankful smile, before moving to sit down on the grass. He let out a deep breath, clearing his mind for a moment while he finished off the cup of tea that Zelda had handed him earlier. It was now cold, but it still swayed his thoughts, and just enough for him to regain motivation. He stretched for a moment, before standing back up and picking up the blueprints once again.

He checked those blueprints hundreds of times during the day. This needed to come out perfect the first time. There was no room for error.

By the time dusk was starting to creep around the corner, the machine had just barely been finished. Robbie insisted Vio allow him to be the one to double check everything was in place, and Red had to wrap his arms around Vio's waist to keep him from pacing himself into a trench.

Vio had never been so terrified in his life. The anticipation made him feel sick, and he closed his eyes tight while he waited for Robbie's conclusion.

"Vio, my boy, this machine should be ready to go," he said, and Vio's eyes snapped open.

"Let's get it over to the cobblestone where the accident first happened. I believe we'll have a higher chance if we bring the energy as close to the scene as possible."

Vio nodded, and Blue and Green both pushed their way through the group to roll the heavy machine off the grass, and towards the middle of the courtyard.

Vio followed hurriedly behind them, keeping a nervous eye on the machine, even when it had been set into place.

Robbie came up behind him, thanking Blue and Green. He gave Vio a reassuring pat on the back, before gesturing to the machines 'on' lever.

"Would you rather be the one to turn it on?"

Vio swallowed, his mind racing through everything that could possibly go wrong one more time, before he shook his head.

Robbie grunted in understanding, as he placed his hand firmly over the handle.

"Alright, then," he started, clearing his throat. "Here goes nothing."

He pulled down hard on the lever, and the machine grunted and chattered to life. Robbie stepped back from the machine, gesturing for everyone else to do the same, as lines on the machine began to let off a soft glow.

Looking over the machine, it was almost that of a cube, with two large gears whirring on the sides of it, twisting against may more small gears. It seemed to resemble a wheelbarrow. On the top was a large dome, filled tightly with the crushed remains of a handful of luminous stones, which caused the machine to glow. They had been supplied earlier by a few knights that had been instructed to collect them.

Those stones were also what drew in the light of dusk, and as they seemed to suck the energy out of the sky, the glow transitioned from a light blue to a bright orange.

The brighter the orange light began to glow, the more the machine began to rattle. Zelda had placed herself next to Vio, slipping her arm into the crook of his; holding tightly, comfortingly.

The stones on the top of the machine let out just a second of extremely bright light, almost similar to the reflection of the sunlight. The sun had already started it's quick descent behind distant mountains, and it only took moments at that point before the sky had grown dark, but not quite pitch.

As soon as the sun had disappeared, the machine let out a concerning cough, and Vio took in a deep breath as he bit down on his bottom lip.

Suddenly, the dome of luminous stones crackled like a chimney, before bursting off the top of the machine and scattering across the courtyard like an exploding ball of fire. The power of the rocks bursting up into the air sent small pieces of the machine flying as well, and Green was incredibly quick at pulling out his shield to cover both Zelda and Vio- who were closest to the machine.

The shards of luminous stones scattered around the courtyard, glowing like embers, before they died back down to the first soft blue glow, and then to nothing. The courtyard had darkened even more now that it was missing the light from the stones.

Vio pulled away from Zelda, his heart pounding in his throat as he started to walk towards the center of the courtyard.

"Vio, wait, be careful!" Zelda called out, her voice small with oncoming nerves. All Vio could do was slightly wave her off, planting himself in front of the largest crumble of dead luminous stones. He knelt down, hovering his hand just over the rocks, feeling for heat. When he felt absolutely nothing, he carefully tapped the backside of his finger to the rock. It sizzled at his touch, but was ice cold.

Climbing back to his feet, he looked up at the sky, searching for any sign of the moon, and when he saw it, he felt like a stone was dropped into his stomach.

It was pure white. The same color as it always was. This was no blood moon. It hadn't worked.

Vio felt a panic arise in his chest, and as he fell down onto his knees, he covered his mouth with his hand to muffle a choked sob. Zelda had began to rush out to him, halting in her tracks as Vio held his hands out towards her, gesturing for her to stop. He couldn't handle the comforting touch at the moment, as much as he knew he needed it.

Minutes that felt like hours passed, and Vio finally opened his eyes to look at the ground beneath him. Under the rock fragment in front of him, he just barely noticed what looked to be a faded, crimson stain on the cobblestone. He moved the rock, understanding that the stain was from his and Shadow's blood. He looked back towards the steaming machine.

Had it not been close enough to the exact spot? If it had been closer, would it have worked? Or… had he just been too late? If they had finished earlier, would it have gained more of Ganon's remaining power? What could have been the reason?

Vio sat, wallowing in his thoughts for a few moments, quickly wiping each tear from his eyes just before they were able to fall from his cheeks. If it weren't for his magnificent eyesight, he might not have noticed the light red stain start to darken.

He scooted backwards on his knees, creating more space between himself and the stain, tilting his head to get a better look. Was he imagining things at this point? He could hear Zelda call his name, asking what was going on, but he couldn't form the words to answer her, so he just didn't.

He sighed when he felt a drop of water hit the back of his neck. It was beginning to rain, and for a moment, Vio had come to a conclusion that it had darkened because of the weather. That thought melted away, though, as the stain on the ground suddenly grew completely dark, before bubbling under the growing layer of rain.

Steam had started to rise from it, illuminated by the light from the moon. What Vio noticed, was that the bubbling wasn't like water; it was as though someone had set honey to a high boil. Yet, it begun to rise and move with the weight of fog. As though his emotions had disappeared, Vio watched the bubbling with only a confused curiosity.

Startled, he jumped as a clawed hand burst from the dark liquid, reaching out blindly for a stone to grip onto, pulling itself forward. Another hand came out, reaching out in the same manner as the first, and this time, Vio lunged forward to grab onto it.

While Vio pulled, the first hand moved from the stone to grab onto Vio's wrist, and disregarding the pain from his shoulder, Vio climbed to his feet, pulling back as hard as he could manage. He fell back onto his rear as the figure that was attached to the arms was pulled out of ground, and Vio could feel his heartbeat quicken as the figure rolled over onto it's back, groaning and seemingly out of breath.

Vio moved forward to sit on his knees again, looking over the figure. Confusion, terror, and sheer relief all washing over him at the same time, as the figures face was washed of the darkness, and Vio recognized Shadow's face.

"...Shadow?" He asked tentatively, and with a grunt, Shadow pushed himself up just enough that he could perch his arms behind himself to hold his body up. He turned his head to look at Vio, his expression straight for a moment, causing Vio to briefly worry, before Shadow's mouth cracked into a tired, yet sly smile.

"Hiya, cutie," he rasped, and it was as if someone had burned down the water dam, and Vio finally stopped holding himself back from sobbing openly as Shadow moved forward to wrap his arms tight around him. Vio grasped back desperately, as though he were afraid he was living in a dream, and at any moment, Shadow would slip back through his arms and leave him once again. But he didn't.

A chorus of whooping cheers came from behind them, and Zelda rushed just a bit closer to the two, but kept her distance respectfully. Through his own tears, Vio caught her eye, and even through the darkness, he could see her face crumpled in a relieved cry.

Vio felt himself being helped to his feet as Shadow stood up, folding his arm around Vio as they stepped into a more comfortable position. Shadow reached up to hold his hand around Vio's neck, pulling him into a quick, but wholehearted, kiss. Once they had pulled apart, Zelda finally pushed her way up to them.

"Shadow, thank the goddess you're alright," she fretted, lacing her hands around both of their arms. "How do you feel?"

Shadow chuckled, pulled his arm out of Zelda's hand to properly wrap it around her shoulder.

"Y'know, I feel like I got my heart shot out by an arrow," he started, before looking back towards Vio.

"But… I think it's healed now."


End file.
